Why Magnetic Island residents are upset at dredging project

Magnetic Island locals are fuming over council’s plan to dump 12,000 tonnes of dredged soil in their neighbourhood, accusing them of hiding behind vague zoning rules to make it happen.

Nelly Bay resident Angela Hallett is concerned that the property behind her, 55-77 Kelly St, is being used for industrial purposes which contradicted what the community wanted.

Nelly Bay residents are fuming over Townsville City Council’s plan to dump 12,000 tonnes of dredged soil from the harbour right in their backyard.

Locals claim the council is using vague zoning rules to push through a project they believe isn’t in the best interests of the community.

The dredging, set to kick off before mid-next year, aims to make Nelly Bay Harbour safer for boats.

But with all that dredged sand, clay, and silt needing to be stored somewhere, the council has its sights set on 55-77 Kelly St – an area zoned for “community facilities.”

They plan to move it there by heavy vehicle and treat it with agricultural lime.

A council spokeswoman said there had been community meetings about the dredging, which could take up to three months to complete, and that the contract should be finalised by the end of the year.

$2.85m had been set aside for dredging, and that the Kelly St site was the only feasible location to manage the material on Magnetic Island.

Townsville City Council planning zones for 55-77 Kelly St in Nelly Bay.

“The alternative would have been to ship the dredged material back to the mainland,” the spokeswoman said.

“This would be significantly more expensive and not as sustainable.

“Managing the material on the island means that once recycled, it can be reused on Magnetic Island, which will benefit the local community.

The publicly available Townsville City Plan labels 55-77 Kelly St, Nelly Bay, as “community facilities”.

“The use of the Kelly St site for managing the dredged material aligns with the intended development land use zoning requirements.”

The council’s proposal is backed by State MP Scott Stewart, who said the Kelly Bay site was eight times cheaper for ratepayers than the council’s proposed alternatives.

Mr Stewart said the dredged material that was built up in the harbour was sand, clay, and silt, which mostly flowed from Gustav Creek.

Townsville MP Scott Stewart said he said the Townsville City Council’s proposal fit within the scope of its zoning, while the state government did back the environmental approvals. Picture: Evan Morgan

“It will be taken by two truck movements, one in the morning, one in the afternoon,” he said.

“It will be treated at Kelly St, and residents will actually be able to come and use some of that treated soil to put back into gardens … and the sand that’s taken out can be used as beach renourishment as well.”

Mr Stewart said it was a council driven project and the only involvement the state government had was ticking the environmental approvals to treat the dredge soil.

“Everything we’ve seen from our perspective, the council has done the right thing,” Mr Stewart said.

But Nelly Bay residents questioned whether the storage of dredged material was the appropriate use of the property, and zoning, and referred to a Bulletin article from 2017 which said the council submitted a development application to rezone the same property for a staged “low-impact industrial subdivision.”

The property’s neighbour, Angela Hallett, said this definition changed after public consultation because the community rejected it.

“The definition of what they want to do there comes under heavy impact industry, and it’s not zoned that,” she said.

“Two and two aren’t making four, if you know what I mean.

“But the reality of that is that the community clearly don’t want it, and even if they’ve identified that as a place to put it … that the reason that they want to put it there is because it’s the cheapest option.

“But cheapest doesn’t mean best.”

Magnetic Island resident Clare Leabeater said she felt “betrayed” by the council, as it had tried several times to place “high impact industry” close to family homes.

“There were two public consultation processes, in 2017 and 2018 and each time residents said we don’t want an industrial zone adjoining a residential zone,” she said.

“And that was only for light impact industry.

“Council was going to make this an industrial area whether we like it or not.”

Under the Townsville City Plan a “community facilities” zone is an area which accommodates a range of industrial uses that are likely to have a greater potential for off-site impacts, and can include high and medium impact industry, food and drink outlets, and warehouses.

State development definitions do not contradict these definitions.

The property is close to general and rural residential zones, but is not the only defined community facility in Nelly Bay. 

Originally published as Why Magnetic Island residents are upset at dredging project